Friend In Korean

Linda Dunsmore Destinations Alumni Experiences Korean learners of the English language face numerous challenges in acquiring the language on a proficient level, although English is introduced to children at an early age. English is incorporated into the primary school curriculum from the age of four, yet only a small minority master the language on a proficient conversational level. Unfortunately, the reasons seem to stem from cultural and social differences, the significant differences between the two languages; Korean and English, and the Korean Educational System is also a contributing factor. This post was written by our ITTT graduate Beatrix N. To begin with, cultural differences seem to be a central reason why Koreans...  [Read more]

Jon ITTT Destinations Two thirds of South Koreans aged 25 to 34 have a college degree and take mandatory English classes. Koreans are obsessed with education to enable the best future for their children and South Korea provides top salary to their teachers and has the highest average reading literacy of the OECD. This makes South Korea the ideal destination for qualified English teachers looking to make a good living while teaching abroad. English teachers with TEFL certification in Korea can expect to earn between US$1,300 and US$3,000 per month. Salaries vary enormously depending on the educational institution. Public school teachers can expect to earn around 1.5 – 3 million won or US$1,265 – US$2,500 per month. Teachers in universities...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Budget and Salary Destinations The following guide will help you answer the question: How much can I earn (and save) teaching English in South Korea? You will also find information on the local cost of living in order to figure out how much to budget for when moving to South Korea. There are many different teaching positions available all across South Korea. The salary usually depends on the type of school you work at and your qualifications. English teachers in South Korea can expect to make between 1.8 and 3 million Korean Won per month (currently $1,600 to $2,675). Those teaching at a university or international school, however, can make up to 3.5 million KRW ($3,120 USD). If you are a first-time teacher, you...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences From my combined interest in Asian, and more specifically Korean, culture and my desire to teach English to anyone wanting to learn, I have personally come to interact with several adult learners from South Korea during the past few years. Through this experience, I have come to detect several common problems that students coming from this country, as well as students from neighboring Asian countries such as Japan and China, may face while learning English and that I will, therefore, develop in this short essay. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Kimberley H. M. The most common problem would be pronunciation. Yes, it may be a common problem to all English learners, or any language learner...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences American and German Augsburg, Germany 26 Bachelor’s of Science in Management Yes. Growing up in Europe with a German mother and an American father I had the opportunity to travel around Europe and the US. After studying Mandarin, I also spent some time in China. San Diego, California Being able to explore the world and making use of my foreign language skills in Chinese. I was concerned about the language barrier, especially in China where English is not widely spoken. Even though I studied Mandarin, I was worried that my language skills wouldn’t be good enough to be able to live in China and get by alone. However, everything went very well and I was able to improve my Chinese language skills immensely during...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Destinations TEFL Information Hi and welcome to another live session from ITTT. My name is Linda and I'm here today to talk about teaching English in South Korea. Let me just show you today's topic so that everybody who's joining knows what's happening today. Today we're talking about teaching English in South Korea and I'm so excited about this topic and it's actually been a super requested topic every time I do a live session. I've been living in Korea for almost six years and I have been teaching a few different classes. I have done summer camps and winter camps and teaching kids and teaching adults, teaching business English, teaching conversation, teaching full-time at a kindergarten and elementary school...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas When I was a university student, my roommate was from Busan, South Korea. I loved spending time with him. We became incredibly close friends, and I also became close to the other students who came through the same foreign exchange program as he did. I helped them learn English regularly, checking and proofreading essays and explaining phrases to them. They left the United States after one semester, but they had already introduced me to other Korean students who would be there for two more years. I enjoyed learning about their culture and the cultural differences that we had. I also learned a lot about the obstacles that my friends faced in learning English, and worked to help them overcome those obstacles. This...  [Read more]

Seoul is a city with a long and interesting history. It is also a thoroughly modern and technologically advanced city. Ancient neighborhoods sit side-by-side with gleaming skyscrapers in a city that provides some of the fastest internet connections in the world. Such a technologically advanced city is able to offer a high standard of living at a cost of living that is comparatively low to many other cities around the world. This is none of the reasons that Seoul is a popular destination for TEFL teachers from around the globe. There is plenty to see and do in Seoul. If you are looking for home comforts then a visit to the international districts of Itaewon and Hannam would be a good idea. There are also numerous museums and parks around the city and festivals are held throughout the year. ...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Destinations TEFL Information South Korea’s capital is one of the most important and fastest-growing cities in Asia and indeed the world. Across the city you will find some of the world's largest companies in the technology and automobile industries. On top of that, Seoul is an exciting city with lots of historic attractions, as well as modern museums, hot fashion shows, and a wide variety of music acts. Seoul is also home to thousands of foreign English teachers, many of whom are not ready to leave and have made the city their permanent home base. The population of Seoul stands at nearly 10 million people, a figure that grows every year due to the city’s vast number of job opportunities. Seoul is also among...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Alumni Experiences I decided to write about the subject I’m an expert in, my personal teaching experience. The focus will be on what I’ve gained from the last nine years as an EFL instructor. I’ll begin by telling you about my first teaching position in rural South Korea. Next, I’ll share my experience taking the TEFL course. Finally, I’ll discuss my efforts to become an independent online English instructor. I hope my experience can provide some insight into some of the many options for EFL teachers. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Karissa B. After too many hours in an airplane and another two hours in a taxi, I finally arrived at my new home. My co-teacher was there to meet me. He would become...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas I’m a non-native English speaker who never once benefited from an effective ESL program in her entire school years. It’s rather ironic that I became an ESL teacher and taught English for six years, essentially preaching what I had never practiced myself. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Somy L. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. I was born in Korea, and my family and I moved to South Africa when I was ten. Before 2000, ESL programs were not widespread knowledge and resources were on the limited side. My ESL teacher at the time would just give printouts to the students to color and trace words. The amount of progress I made in...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas Most of the teachers like to arrange the seating arrangement. The aim is the only one which is to make sure all the students focus and understand what is going on in class. Even no arrangement is perfect but yet it helps. As a teacher in a lower primary in one of the international schools in Indonesia, I do like to arrange my students’ seats. With English as a daily basis language and students are from different Asia countries with mixed language ability, the seating arrangement is one of the keys. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Johanna S. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. For daily, I prefer my students to seat in a group...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore TEFL Information Teaching English abroad is one of the most interesting career paths one might take up. You get to move to a new country and even get paid for it! However, too many people are unsure whether teaching EFL is right for them. This article highlights 6 things you will miss out on if you don’t teach English abroad. When routine becomes a ball and chain, you know it’s time for something new. Moving to a new country to teach English is the perfect opportunity to discover a whole new world. Whether it’s cherry blossom season in Japan, Chinese New Year festivities in Taiwan, Christmas markets in Germany or the Carnival in Brazil - there are new experiences ahead of you on every corner! It’s not only large cultural...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Destinations Lunar New Year is one of the most important holidays in a variety of Asian countries. This holiday marks the beginning of a calendar year whose months are cycles of the moon. Typically, the Lunar New Year is celebrated in January or February depending on the lunar calendar. Teaching English in Asia is a great way to experience Lunar New Year celebrations and different customs in the various Asian nations. Chinese New Year is the most important Chinese festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional Chinese moon calendar. Chinese New Year is a 15-day-long festival period with the Lantern Festival concluding the celebrations on the 15th day of the year. The first day of Chinese New Year begins on...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Hello everyone, how are you doing? Linda from ITTT, back again with another live session. I’m super excited to be here today to talk about this exciting topic, teaching English abroad and how it enhances your career prospects. I'm just going to wait for a couple more people to join, you know how it usually works. Once we are a good sized group of people we can start diving into this topic. If you can hear me and if you can see me please leave a comment. We are live on Facebook and on YouTube at the same time, so wherever you're watching from just leave a quick hi or hello in the comment section and also let me know where you are watching from. I am in South Korea about an hour...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Teaching Ideas Hi my name is Linda from ITTT, international TEFL and TESOL Training and I'm back again today for another live session. If you can hear me and see me please let me know as I'm trying out a new mic today so if that is working well it would be good to know. So please leave a quick comment to say hi and where you're watching from. I have been living in South Korea for five and a half years, so for me right now it's 10:00 a.m. Friday morning. Let me know where you are tuning in from and what time it is where you are. We can get started on today's topic which is the best government programs for teaching English abroad. If you're interested in teaching English abroad then you should...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Alumni Experiences TEFL Reviews & TESOL Reviews For ITTT, our community of students and alumni is the most important to us. That’s why we’d love to share what our course grads have to say! This will not only have others make a better decision in whether TEFL/TESOL is for them, but it will also help the ITTT community grow bigger and stronger! The below answers were given from real ITTT alumni who have agreed to share their thoughts for our blog section. Zac Robertson I am from Pretoria, South Africa. To become an English Teacher abroad, ITTT was highly recommended to me by a friend. Video Lessons and comprehensiveness of course units. I hope to become an English Teacher in South Korea, to assimilate to...  [Read more]

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Lulu Johnson Destinations TEFL Information Alumni Experiences The Fulbright program is a great way to travel abroad and work as an English language teacher in an exciting new country. It allows you to experience a new culture, meet lots of new people and discover something new about yourself. This article will go over what Fulbright is, their English teaching program, and how to apply to Fulbright in this blog post. My name is Lulu, and I am currently a Fulbright recipient in South Korea for the next year (2021). A little about me: I was originally born in China but was adopted into a USA family. I grew up knowing I wanted to become a doctor and went to college in the Midwest and majored in Nutritional...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Destinations Alumni Experiences Welcome to another live session this week and we're on at a different time this week. Usually we're a little bit earlier, but we have a special guest today, and that's because she's based in Germany. So we had to change the time a little bit. I’m Linda from ITT, you've probably seen me before, if you've watched us live and I’m here with Brit today. Hi Brit! Hi, thanks for having me, and painting your time to meet my schedule, and thank you so much for getting up early.I know it's early in Germany right now. just have my coffee and I’m good to go.That's awesome,where in Germany are you exactly? so I’m based near Trier, which is along the border with Luxembourg. So very close...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences For those of us who have a desire to teach English as a foreign language in Korea but decide to forego a formal TEFL certificate, language academies (or, "hagwons") are one of our most prominent and accessible options. In the year 2018, fresh out of my undergraduate program, I joined the ranks of many enthusiastic (albeit, mostly untrained) teachers bound for privately-run English academies. The opportunity to travel, visa sponsorships, housing benefits, and the job, itself, make hagwons an attractive option to aspiring teachers with no formal training or little practical teaching experience. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Shelby H. Please note that this blog post might not...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Alumni Experiences Teaching Ideas English to me and I'll answer them to the best of my ability. We have a first time watcher Sebastian watching from Cameroon and it is 2:00 a.m. there, wow thanks so much for staying up and watching our live stream, that's awesome. We are actually streaming live on Facebook and also on YouTube at the same time, so wherever you're watching from you can throw your questions at me at any time and if you don't want to miss out on any of our live streams don't forget to like and subscribe so that you always get notifications. I go live every Friday morning my time, depending on where you're watching it might still be Thursday, and then my colleague...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Teaching Ideas It is undeniable that rapport between the teacher and students and between students themselves makes the class successful and enjoyable. However, some teachers face problems trying to establish rapport with the students. Being an experienced EFL teacher, I keep facing the same problem: it is hard for me to create a relaxed atmosphere in the classroom and keep a balance between being students’ reliable friend and their authority. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Elena K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. To begin with, it is important to create a warm relationship from the very beginning. Therefore, the first lesson should be more...  [Read more]

Federico Riva Destinations TEFL Information oday’s exciting topic is the top hiring seasons for teaching English abroad. We're going to go over different countries on different continents and what their hiring seasons are, so when's the best time to go job hunting. Also there will be some tips for job hunting in those places as sometimes you need to get hired in advance when you're still in your home country and you can do online interviews, but in some countries you need to apply in person. So we're going to talk about that as well. Thanks so much for tuning in and as always please don't forget to like and subscribe so that you never miss a live session. We go live twice a week, one time with me on Fridays, or Thursday...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore TEFL Information Many people around the world dream of moving abroad to teach English. It’s exciting, it’s life-changing and it can seem like a never-ending vacation. I have taught English abroad since 2015 in China and South Korea and together with fellow teachers with years of experience, I’ve compiled this list of 10 pieces of advice that every new EFL teacher needs to know. So many people want to live abroad and a large percentage of these choose the path of teaching English. The demand for teachers is huge around the globe and you can find positions in virtually all corners of the world. While that’s great news, there’s one thing to keep in mind, being a native or fluent English speaker does not make you a great...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Teaching Ideas There are thousands of English coursebooks nowadays, and one might get confused while trying to choose a coursebook for the students. I have faced this problem as well, trying to choose the coursebook for private classes with a 7-year-old student who has already learned some English before. This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Elena K. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. As far as I am concerned, Oxford University Press is known to be one of the best ESL coursebook «producers» in the world. One of their best courses is «Family and Friends» which had been developed into «Family and Friends 2nd edition», a highly-popular course...  [Read more]

Linda Dunsmore Destinations TEFL Information Welcome to another live session. My name is Linda from ITTT and you can find me on social media at @lindagoeseast. Thanks for tuning in, let me just see that everything's working. If you can see me and if you can hear me, please leave a comment as always. I have been living in South Korea for five and a half years. I am about an hour and a half South of Seoul in a city called Cheongju. It's kind of in the center of South Korea. We are the only province that doesn't border the ocean but it's really great and it's actually snowing right now. I’m excited to be here today as you probably already know what the topic is going to be about today the best countries for teaching English in...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Hi, I am back for another live session this week. My name is Linda from ITTT. I took a break last week, I was traveling a little bit in Korea, not too far but I got to enjoy the cherry blossoms. That's why there was no live session from me last week. But I'm back this week and I'm super excited. Today we're going to have a Q&A session, so you guys can ask me questions about TEFL and TESOL, teaching abroad, teaching online, whatever you want to know about. So something a bit more casual, let's have a chat. I would like to get to know you guys better and you can get to know me, ITTT and TEFL. If you can see me and hear me please drop a hi or something into the comment box so that I know that everything is working...  [Read more]

Elizaveta Pachina Alumni Experiences With a flash of exasperation my Colombian friend, José, inquired, “Why do you always say it like that?” I paused unsure to what he was referring. José continued, “We're the same age and you’ve lived here for months but you still greet me like I’m a long-lost grandfather.” As I prepare to teach English abroad, this interaction forced me to confront the question of slang and idioms (SI) in the classroom. Is it appropriate to teach slang and idioms to learners of English as a foreign language (LEFL)? This post was written by our TEFL certification graduate Conor J. Please note that this blog post might not necessarily represent the beliefs or opinions of ITTT. The widespread prevalence of English SI...  [Read more]

Federico Riva TEFL Information Hi everybody, thanks so much for tuning in. It’s Linda here from ITTT with my morning coffee, because if you've watched me before in one of our live sessions you will know that I am in South Korea and it's currently 10:00 a.m. on Friday morning. So I'm having my morning coffee and I'm going to have a chat with you guys. If you can see me and hear me, please drop a hi or something into the comment box, I would really appreciate it. As you may or may not know, at ITTT we go live twice every week, me on Fridays or maybe Thursdays depending on where you're watching from, and my colleague Liza she goes live every Tuesday. Actually Liza went live on Tuesday and also on Saturday last week because she had a really...  [Read more]